


The Devourer of Hearts

by ConfusedRain



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Swapfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), F/M, Inspired by Terraria, Not Beta Read, Other, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route, Reader is a deity, Reverse Harem, Starvation, and they also dislike you at first, anti-harem, but not slowburn, everyone is in love with someone else in the start, romance takes a bit to start, which transitions into a harem
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:21:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27794515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConfusedRain/pseuds/ConfusedRain
Summary: You were a grand deity before your defeat. You can't recall anything you did to inspire hatred- but it came, and it left your soul in shreds and your body in chains. You've suffered in your captivity for an eternity, your grasp on reality fading as hunger overtakes your mind.But even eternity has an end, and you awake one day to find your magical prison in a new place. There's some skeletons willing to help you here- but the human they seem to adore wants you dead and gone, and that sentiment spreads quickly. Hopefully you can turn things around before it's too late.
Relationships: Papyrus (Undertale)/Reader, Papyrus/Sans (Undertale)/Original Character(s), Sans (Undertale)/Reader
Comments: 76
Kudos: 362





	1. Prologue- The Devourer Has Awoken

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [There's Still Magic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23352289) by [RosesCry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosesCry/pseuds/RosesCry). 



> (For context, (Y/n) starts out in a draconic form they used for combat. They take on a human form a few chapters in, which is also when characters will start referring to them by their actual name.
> 
> Though a lot of inspiration comes from Terraria, it's "There's Still Magic" by RosesCry that got me onboard the anti-harem ship. https://archiveofourown.org/works/23352289/chapters/55946242 is the link to their work, so be sure to give them some love!)
> 
> Warnings- Frequent mentions of starvation, mild cursing.

There was a time before your hunger. You remembered spending your days in the stars, playing in their warmth and dancing in their light. You remembered visiting your planets, watching them grow and gracing them with life. You remembered your people- oh, how you’d loved your people. You gave them the world, asking only for their love. They gave it to you, and you were happy. 

And then everything you’d built was gone. A human- a tiny, mortal human- was the one to ruin everything. They seeked power, like many had before them. You’d underestimated them, ignored them until it was too late. By time you challenged them, they were already prepared.

They won so easily you wondered if you ever had a chance at all.

They left you half dead, chained down by their magic. They knew they couldn’t truly kill you, but they may as well have. The magic they used was stolen from your allies- lesser gods slain long before you noticed the human. With such powerful magic, you knew your chains would long outlast the human who created them.

You struggled in your bonds, at first. Then you hoped for rescue. Then the hunger began, setting your fragmented soul aflame with the desperate need for strength. You needed to get your power back no matter the cost. You needed to eat, to devour anything and everything until you were whole again.

But you couldn’t, all you could do was wait. And the longer you waited, the worse the hunger got.

…

You stared blankly at the wooden ceiling above, gaze unfocused and distant. You’d just woken up from another slumber, disturbed by the unbearable stinging of your soul. You couldn’t tell if you slept for a minute or a century- not that it mattered anyway. All that mattered was how much you needed to ea-

Wait. Your prison...wasn’t it stone? You blinked, eyes stinging as you tried to focus. Maybe your hunger was fooling you again, but the ceiling was definitely wood. It was clean, free of cobwebs and that cursed rune of invisibility.

A dash of hope made your soul quiver within you. If it was clean, there was life nearby. If there was life nearby, you could eat.

No! No, you wouldn’t eat them. You’d get them to free you, then you’d leave and find something harmless to eat. But could you hold off that long? You’ve been hungry for so long...so, so hungry that it was hard to think of anything else. So hungry that you deserved to be fed. It wasn’t your fault, anyway; the human did this to you. Any destruction you cause now is their fault.

Ah, you’ve been thinking too long. You need to act, do something to get their attention. You open your mouth for the first time in an eternity, your voice crackling out like a dying flame. It was pathetically quiet, much too quiet to attract attention.

You huff in agitation, forcing your body to move beneath your chains. You thrashed wildly, the glowing links rattling as much as you could make them.

“DO YOU HEAR THAT NON-BONE RATTLING SOUND?” A loud, but somewhat muffled, voice sounded from above you. You tried to find its source, mind a bit too jumbled to realize it was from a floor above you.

Someone replied, but it was too quiet to hear.

“THE MACHINE? YOU DON’T THINK WE HAVE MORE GUESTS, DO YOU??” 

...

“SANS, YOU CAN’T ASK ME NOT TO GREET THEM. THAT WOULD BE RUDE! AND YOU ALREADY STOPPED ME FROM GREETING THE LAST FOUR.”

...You stopped thrashing, too exhausted to continue. They already heard you, anyway.

“WELL, I SUPPOSE YOU’RE RIGHT. IT WON’T BE A WARM WELCOME WITHOUT WELCOME SPAGHETTI...THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL PREPARE THE WARMEST AND WELCOME-EST OF SPAGHETTIS! NYEHEHEH!” There was the sound of rattling bones before all conversation stopped. You briefly wondered what spaghetti was. Could you eat it? You wanted to eat it.

There was a soft thumping noise coming towards you from the ceiling. It was painfully slow, and you found your attention shifting to investigate your new place of imprisonment.

There were a lot of boxes. You were tempted to bite one, but none were close enough to do so.

There was a door, sitting at the top of a stairway. It was too small for you to fit through in your current form, so you’d either have to gain enough energy to shift or gain enough energy to break it. After you escaped the chains, that is.

There was a machine. It looked complicated, much more complicated than any manmade thing you've seen before. Your people must have gotten smarted over the years.

Then there were some bones on the floor. Well, full skeletons, but close enough. There were two, each with strange proportions. (Or did you just forget what human remains looked like?) The smaller of the two looked inexplicably angry. You imagined their death must have been truly awful if their bones somehow retained their emotions.

If the people who lived here killed two humans, did that give you the authority to eat them without a second thought? You’d like that. You were really hungry.

You pushed away the thoughts of hunger as the door opened, a bright light filling the room. You squeezed your eyes shut, the light scorching through your eyelids. Tears streamed down your face as you slowly reopened your eyes, seeing color for the first time in an eternity. Though it was all blurry, those browns and golds and whites struck deep in your soul.

As you blinked away the tears, your gaze met with an empty one. A literally empty one- a skeleton stood at the stairs, upright and very clearly alive, with an abyss for eyes.

“what.” It stayed still for a moment, then rubbed its eyesockets, “what? stars, i don’t- what the hell?” It seemed very confused. You were, too: you couldn’t tell if it had a soul or not. It seemed alive enough to have one. Would skeleton souls heal you as well as human souls?

“um...heya, pal. are you a monster?” You’d be insulted if you weren’t so distracted by your hunger. You tried to say no, but choked on your own saliva. Huh, when did you start salivating? 

The skeleton slowly crept down the stairs, little white lights appearing in its eyesockets. It seemed concerned, and if the crease in its brow (how did bones crease?) meant anything, it only just noticed your current state.

“woah. you look a little tied up there, bud.” You nodded, since you were tied up. 

“are you okay? can you not speak?” You huffed, flicking your gaze between the skeleton and your chained, battle-scarred form. It seemed to get the message.

“i guess not. i’ll help you out, just…” It stared at you for a long moment, and you got the impression those little white lights were staring right into your soul. Unfortunately for it, your soul was currently a fine powder. You don’t think it can see that. “you’ve got to agree to something, okay? it’s nothing difficult.” Its eyes turned dark again, and its voice dropped, “just make sure you don’t even think about hurting my brother, or you’ll be worse off than you already are.” You immediately thought about eating its brother. Was its brother also a skeleton? Maybe skeleton souls would taste like bones. You’ve never eaten bones before, were they any good?

But you weren’t going to eat its brother, not when it was about to free you. That was a fair enough trade, you felt. And to be extra generous, you wouldn’t eat the skeleton in front of you, either. You give it an affirmative nod.

Its eyes lit up again, “cool. now let’s get you out of there.” It approached with mild caution, almost stepping on one of the floor-skeletons. You wonder if it even noticed them, but don’t care enough to try and point them out. It might slow your release if you did.

The skeleton waved a hand, a bone appearing in its grip. It testingly tapped one of your chains with the bone- which immediately crumbled into a fine dust. “damn, whoever locked you up really didn’t want you getting free. uh…” It scratched the back of its skull, thinking for a moment. “it was a human, wasn’t it?”

You nod, recalling the human you fought. You hated that human more than you hated your hunger. They must’ve been long dead by now, so you hoped they had a death every bit as painful as what they put you through.

“welp, that’s unfortunate. i can’t do much to break a human’s spell…” You were surprised at how easily it gave up. Just how much had your people fallen after your capture?

“but i can still help you recover some hp. er, my bro can, i’m no healer. but i’m sure i can give you…” It rummaged in the pocket of its jacket, and you realized it was wearing clothes. Actually, so were the floor-skeletons. Odd. Last time you checked, skeletons had nothing to cover. Then again, you never entirely understood humans and their obsession with clothes, either.

After some searching, it held up a wrapped piece of candy. “there we go. it’s monster candy, it’ll help. just, uh…” A bead of sweat formed on its skull as it went about unwrapping the candy, “don’t bite me.”

It held the unwrapped candy over your mouth, which you immediately opened. It dropped the candy, watching with a disturbed look as you snapped your jaw shut.

You devoured the candy without bothering to chew or even taste it. There was a sliver of magic in that candy- a sliver of soul. The magic embraced your own soul, and you felt some fragments connect. It was hardly a fraction of what you needed, but the small boon made your hunger the slightest bit weaker.

You gave the skeleton an expectant look- you needed more. If you were going to burst free from these cursed chains, you needed so much more.

“i don’t have any more on me, pal. you’ll have to hold on until my bro comes do-” It cut itself off at the sound of thumping from above. It looked up, then shrugged and looked back at you, “i think that means his spaghetti’s almost done.”

You blinked, unsure how to respond. You couldn’t speak if you wanted to, nor could you ask questions with facial expressions. If you could, you’d have asked it for food.

\--

To fill the time, the skeleton started making weird comments. It- er, he, you realized- liked to intentionally mispronounce words or splice them with other words. You didn’t really understand it, but it made him chuckle a lot. Maybe that was just humor now...the world really spiraled downward without you.

“-so i looked him dead in the eye and went ‘you’re the impasta.’ he tried to spaghett me out of the game, but-”

He was still going. You almost preferred it when you were alone with no signs of rescue.

“-i cannoli remember the look on his face when-”

You’re suffering, and you had a feeling he could tell.

“-and i-”

“SANS!” You and the skeleton both jolted at the indignant shriek coming from the door, “YOU BETTER NOT BE PUNNING AT...AT…” They stared at you for a moment, “WHATEVER THEY ARE. THEY DESERVE BETTER!” 

The one speaking was an exceedingly tall skeleton in an apron, balancing a plate of something on one hand while the other was dramatically placed on his hip. He moved down the stairs quickly, setting the plate on top of your head.

You died inside, knowing full well there was no way to eat it without dumping it on the floor and potentially knocking it out of your reach. What kind of torture was this?

“AND YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME THERE’S MORE THAN ONE GUEST. I DIDN’T MAKE ENOUGH SPAGHETTI!” You looked at the short skeleton, the one called Sans by the taller one. He was looking at the tall skeleton and didn’t acknowledge your silent plea for help.

“uh. there isn’t more than one guest?” 

“SANS, DON’T TELL ME YOU WERE TOO LAZY TO PROPERLY SEARCH THE ROOM. BECAUSE IF YOU DID SEARCH THE ROOM, I HAVE A HARD TIME BELIEVING YOU MISSED THE TWO VERY UNCONSCIOUS SKELETONS ON THE FLOOR.”

Sans looked at the floor, freezing up when he noticed the floor skeletons. “oh. sorry, bro.”

You got the feeling nobody was going to help you. You tilted your head slightly, trying to gently slide the plate off without flipping it over. There was a clinking sound, and you realized it was put in the middle of some crisscrossing chains.

“REALLY, THAT’S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY? I...You’re Usually So Observant.” His voice got quieter, but was still louder than average. “You Need To Stop Staying Up All Night, It’s Hurting You.” His gaze turned to you for a second, and his loud bravado was back, “BUT ANYWHO, WHY DON’T YOU GO GET THE OTHERS? I’LL STAY HERE IN CASE THE OTHER-US WAKE UP, AND I CAN KEEP OUR CHAINED FRIEND COMPANY.”

You pause from your internal debate over whether or not to dump the plate on the ground in order to look up at Sans.

He looked like he wanted to reject the tall skeleton’s request, but nodded anyway, “will do. just, uh, don’t touch the chains.” 

With that warning, he was gone. You looked over at the tall skeleton, who looked back with a smile, “HELLO, FRIEND! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, MASTER CHEF AND ULTIMATE DATEMATE. WHAT’S YOUR NAME?”

You decide to make an attempt at speaking again, but your request to move the plate on your head ended up a gargled-sounding sputter.

“I DON’T KNOW IF I CAN PRONOUNCE THAT…” Papyrus looked genuinely conflicted, making a few awkward squeaking noises in an attempt to recreate your own. “CAN I CALL YOU SOMETHING ELSE? IT’S ALRIGHT IF NOT, I CAN TRY TO LEARN YOUR NAME!” 

You take pity on the skeleton and nod. Unfortunately, his resulting happiness didn’t lead him to move the plate.

“FANTASTIC! THEN I DEEM YOU...THE GREAT SPAGHETTI LIZARD!!!”

You aggressively shook your head, frankly horrified at the thought of being called that. You quickly realized your mistake as something warm and wet smeared across your head, hitting the ground with a plop and a clank.

You glare down at the mess before you. Of course the plate landed on top of the food, protecting it almost perfectly. You tried pushing it off, but that ended up with the plate and the food both being out of reach.

You’re about to break down and cry when the door opens again, a herd of skeletons and a lone human pouring down the stairs.

It seems like you won’t be eating for a while.


	2. An Evil Presence Nears...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (For those asking about the update schedule- I'll update on Mondays, but not necessarily every Monday. I'll try to do so as often as I can!)

“OH DEAR. FRIEND, I’M AFRAID THAT’S NOT HOW YOU EAT SPAGHETTI.”

You ignore Papyrus, blaming him for the food spilled on the floor. Instead, you watch the arrivals by the stairs.

There are four skeletons, ignoring the two unconscious ones and the two you’ve already met. They all look jarringly similar, and you can sort them into sets just by looking at them.

One set looked as though Sans and Papyrus traded attitudes. The taller one had an orange hoodie and a wary expression while the shorter one wore workout clothes and had blue stars in his eyes. You wish they were proper stars rather than the shape, you like stars.

The other set was more similar to the unconscious skeletons- except the taller one looked angrier than the shorter one. They were both covered in red and black, and they looked ready to murder you. Too bad you were immortal.

Amidst all the skeletons, the human looked out of place. Her hair was dyed violet, and she had an expression somewhere in between fear and surprise. You couldn’t blame her, given the predatory look you were giving her. A human soul would do you wonders.

“Guys, not to be rude or anything, but what the fuck is that thing doing here?” She asked.

Half the people in the room tried to speak at the same time, and you turned your gaze to glare at the ceiling. There wasn’t much you could do about it, but you despised how they were looking at you. You’re not a rat waiting to be disposed of.

“SILENCE!” The tall-red skeleton’s voice muted the rest, “I EXPECT THERE’S A PERFECTLY REASONABLE EXPLANATION AS TO WHY THE MACHINE WOULD BE ACTIVATED AFTER WE AGREED TO LEAVE IT ALONE?”

There was a heavy silence as everyone looked at Sans. Said skeleton shifted uncomfortably, sweat inexplicably dripping from his skull, “i didn’t do anything. pap and i were upstairs, we heard a noise, and there they were,” He gestured to you and the floor-skeletons.

You glance at them. They were still unconscious, and were both wearing a lot of purple.

“YES. WE WOULDN’T HAVE EVEN FOUND THEM IF NOT FOR OUR FRIEND HERE RATTLING THEIR CHAINS!” Papyrus spoke, but you still didn’t look at him. You could have eaten if not for him. It doesn’t matter that human-food wasn’t half as nourishing as souls, you were hungry and needed everything you could get.

“Weird. Do you think one of these new guys was messing with their world’s machine?” Their...world? Was the human implying that they were deities like you? They weren’t, you could tell that much.

“not a chance, the machine takes. it doesn’t give.” Small-red grumbled, and you found yourself eyeing his golden tooth. You liked the way it sparkled. If you ate him, you’d have to take that tooth. Or maybe you’d eat it, too.

“DEAR SPAGHETTI LIZARD, DO YOU KNOW HOW YOU CAME TO BE HERE?” Papyrus called you that ridiculous name again, and you huff in irritation. You lost your food trying to stop him from calling you that, and he does it anyway. What a cruel world.

“they can’t talk. don’t have a soul, either, and those chains of theirs can dust an attack.” You’re almost impressed how nonchalant Sans is. 

“IS IT HURTING THEM?” Small-blue turned to you, and you noticed that his eyes weren’t stars anymore. 

“NOW THAT HE’S POINTED IT OUT...THEY DON’T LOOK SO HOT.” Papyrus was right. You were injured, wrapped in chains, and had food smeared down your face. Wait…

You poked your tongue out, trying to lick what you could reach. It seemed to be some sort of sauce, with...burntness? An odd choice, but okay. It was food.

“in more ways than one.” Snorted small-red.

The human crossed her arms, “Don’t be rude, Red. Just cause it’s some freaky looking demon thing doesn’t mean you can say things like that.” 

You were out of food to lick. It was nice while it lasted, but you wanted more. You looked sadly at the plate.

“WE SHOULD INTRODUCE OURSELVES! AND THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING WE CAN DO TO FREE THEM.” Small-blue declared. Why are they all so loud? You want to grieve your meal in peace.

“Good call, but can’t we wait until the new guys are up? I don’t want to have to do it twice if I don’t have to.”

“OUR DATEMATE HAS A POINT, BUT ISN’T IT RUDE TO MAKE THEM WAIT?”

“Always thinking of others, aren’t you, Paps?” The human tried to make her uncomfortable grimace into a smile, but it just made her look funny. “How about this: I’ll give them the rundown of who everyone is while you guys lug the new skeles upstairs and get ready for a meeting.”

“i’ll stick down here with you.” Sans spoke the second she finished her sentence. He looked tense, was he hungry? You were.

“No, no! I don’t want it to be intimidated by too many people. And you don’t need to worry, I’ve handled some mean dogs in the past. A chained-up demon’s got nothing on me!” She forced a laugh. You wonder why she’s pretending in the first place.

There was a bit more back-and-forth before everyone disappeared up the stairs, with the exception of Papyrus and the human. She gave him an odd look as he bounded over to you.

“I’D LIKE TO RESTORE SOME OF THEIR HP BEFORE I GO.” He explained, patting your nose with more force than necessary.

The same hand that patted you took on a green glow. As you wonder how it shines through his glove, a soothing magic envelopes you.

You were practically blanketed in food. You reveled in it, your hunger waning away…

Only to come back stronger. You needed more, faster. Your soul is begging to be fed, this isn’t going to be enough unless you take, take it all and devour everyth-

Papyrus jolted, jumping away. He looked frazzled, skull sweaty and breathing labored, “CAREFUL, FRIEND. YOU WERE TRYING TO TAKE MORE THAN I WAS GIVING! I’M SORRY THAT I CAN’T HEAL YOU ENOUGH, BUT I ONLY HAVE BUT SO MUCH MAGIC I CAN LOSE.” 

You look back, guilty. You hadn’t meant to lose control of yourself, you were just so hungry…

“Paps! Oh my god, don’t do that again.” The human rushed to his side, pulling him farther from you. “You should get upstairs, I don’t want them hurting you.”

“YOU DON’T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS CAN’T BE HARMED BY A MEASLY ACCIDENT! But I Will Go Upstairs, Since I Don’t Want To Make You Nervous.” He waved to you and the human before bounding upstairs.

She sighed as the door swung shut, her smile melting away. You feel distinctly uncomfortable being alone with her.

“So. Can you seriously not talk?”

You stare at her in silence. You could nod, but you don’t want to.

“I’ll take that as a yes. Well, that makes this harder...or easier?” She bit her lip, analyzing you through narrowed eyes.

“See, I’m not down with you being here. This place? It’s my paradise. I’ve finally gotten the chance to move on from all that bullshit I’ve been through, and I have everything I ever wanted.” She glanced at the roof, a small smile forming.

You aren’t sure what she’s getting at, but you don’t like it.

“You have no idea how amazing it feels being pampered all day, every day. Those sweet dumbasses devote everything to me, and I love it. And that’s where the problem is: I don’t want to lose a drop of what I have.” She looked back at you.

You’re suddenly aware of just how vulnerable you are in your chains.

“Once they stop being freaked out about you, you’ll have the whole damn household swarming over you, trying to set you free and help you get better. They’re all nice like that.” She chuckled bitterly and tugged on a strand of her hair, “So here’s the deal: if you can make sure that never happens, I’ll make sure you get freed. If you don’t, I’ll do whatever it takes to get rid of you. You'll never see the light of day again.”

Your blood runs cold and your body freezes. You can’t be abandoned again, you can’t be left to starve and rot and suffer for another eternity. You can’t do it, you’d sooner throw away your immortality.

You’d do anything to stop that from happening.

“I see I got your attention, good.” She clasped her hands together with a smile, “I’m glad we’ll be able to get along. I’ve already got an idea to make sure things work out, but I do still have to give those introductions. I’ll be quick, I’ve already been down here too long.”

“Sans is the short one in blue, Papyrus is the one who keeps calling himself Papyrus, Blue is the one with blue eyes, Stretch is the tall one in orange, Red is the short angry one, and Edge is the tall angry one. As for me, I go by Faye. Got it?”

You nod. You don’t plan on telling her no any time soon, regardless of how well you understand what she says.

“Cool, cool. Thanks for being easy to work with, Chains.” Suddenly, Papyrus’s awful name seemed a lot better.

“Now, for my idea: I need you to bite me.” Faye moved to sit cross-legged in front of you, and you were pretty sure she got sauce on her pants.

Faye held an arm out to you, letting her fingertips graze the top of your snout.

You look at her, baffled. It wasn’t that you had a problem with biting her- you’d be more than happy to- but you didn’t see why she wanted you to.

Whatever. Food is food, and you weren’t about to get abandoned again. You opened your mouth, barely getting it around her hand before she yanked it away.

“Wait!” She held the hand you were going to bite, shaking slightly. “Fuck, this is going to be harder than I thought. Okay, um, let’s try again. And I want the bite to be deep, but don’t- don’t bite my hand off or I swear you’ll never see another living creature again.”

She held her hand out again, and you stared at it. She was terrified, why ask you to do something she doesn’t even want?

“Come on, get it over with.” Faye urged, her eyes scrunched shut and non-offered hand clenched. You look at her for a moment longer, then do as she asked.

Her blood has magic in it, you notice. You’re tempted to do what she warned against, if just to get more magic in you.

You’d like to say it was your reasoning that stopped you from going through with that temptation, but it wasn’t. The thing that stopped you was her free hand smacking your nose.

You release her hand, newly anxious. You didn’t go too far and upset her, did you?

“Holy- ow, that stings a lot worse than I expected. Shit, shit...okay.” She took a deep breath, pulling herself back up to her feet. She pressed her hand against her side at an odd angle, as though trying to hide it.

“I’m going to get this healed up. You might get yelled at later, but don’t worry. I’m happy, so you should be, too.” She sent you a grin, but it came out as more of a pained grimace.

As she disappeared up the stairs, you considered how the others would react to the bite. You think she wants them to hate you, but you don’t see that happening. 

The skeletons think of you like an animal. Putting your hand in a feral beast’s cage has obvious results; they’ll scold you a little and then tell Faye that maybe she shouldn’t put her hand in your face.

It’s not like she can even pretend you came at her out of nowhere. You can’t move, nonetheless launch yourself at someone.

What a weird human. You hope you never see her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I'm trying to keep Faye from having the sole character trait of 'evil.' Nobody is just plain evil, not even the manipulative abusers. She's still not a good person, though.
> 
> On another note- would you prefer Papyrus or Blue to be our deity's initial buddy? I know it's usually Rus in this kind of fic, but I think Pap and Blue are most likely to support the deity . (Heads up, my version of Blue is based on the original Underswap. He likes puns and isn't just smol Papyrus)


	3. The Room Grows Cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Blue's going to be our deity's first skele-friend! Their friendship starts forming in the next chapter. And for those who wanted it to be Papyrus, he still doesn't hate them! He's just dealing with a mix of unsettlement and his brother's overprotectiveness.
> 
> And something else- Swapfell is a little confusing to me, with its variants. I'm using something in between SF red and purple, where it's not quite either one. Their aesthetic is purple, but their attitudes in general are closer to SF red.)

After Faye’s retreat, you decide to try and fall asleep. It would pass the time to your next feeding, and maybe you’d sleep through the inevitable scolding...that would be nice. You don’t like being in trouble.

Not that you’ve ever really been in trouble before. There’s not much one can do to punish a god.

Except for chaining them up, but that only happened since you were in a bad state even before your fight. You like to think that you’re doing better now, if just by a little.

…That was wrong.

You were at full strength in your battle. You remember giving it everything you had, forcing yourself to keep fighting as your soul crumbled. You remembered how much it hurt to keep trying after you realized it was over.

You must be getting confused. That happens sometimes after being left to your thoughts for so long.

“chains.” You blink, eyes refocusing to spot Sans by the stairs. He had two bowls, but you couldn’t see their contents. Was it food? You’d like that.

But shouldn’t you be in trouble? Weird. Maybe he was apologizing for Faye getting in your face.

Your mouth still tasted like her blood.

“we need to talk.” He set the bowls down about a foot away from you, and you look into them. One had the same thing Papyrus gave you, the one that got dumped on the floor. The other had water.

You lean in a pathetic attempt to reach the food bowl. You fail horribly.

“spaghetti comes later, we need to talk.”

So you were in trouble after all. You don’t regret anything, but you’re still uncomfortable. And did he really need to do this before feeding you?

“imagine my surprise when i’m helping black and rus- the new guys- and pap comes up the stairs looking tired. i check his stats, and y’know what? he’s lost some hp.” 

That wasn’t what you were supposed to be in trouble for.

“so i ask him what happened, and he says there was a ‘slight accident’ in healing you. my bro’s no liar, but he’s also too nice for his own good.”

You don’t like this. 

“i was going to let it slide, just be a bit more on edge with ya. but then starlight- faye- comes up trying to hide a bite mark. said she sat too close and you bit her.”

Actually, you hate this.

“look. i wanna give you the benefit of the doubt, and maybe she shouldn’t have got in your space. but you know what she said happened with my brother?” He stuffed his hands in his pockets, one of his eyes flickering blue.

It was a lethal, fiery blue that reminded you of the long-dead human’s magic. It wanted you gone- Sans wanted you gone.

“you tried to take his soul.”

No.

“you didn’t even give him a chance to defend himself.”

It wasn’t like that.

“you tried to kill him as he healed you.”

You didn’t mean to hurt him, you would never have done it if you were in control of yourself. It was only because of that cursed hunger- just like half the things you do at this point! Why does it always ruin everything?

You shook your head desperately, chains slapping against it with a clang. It stung a little and the noise echoed painfully in your head- you winced.

Sans didn’t care.

“sorry, bud, but your word means nothing. it sure didn’t when you agreed not to hurt paps.”

You don’t want to be here anymore. You don’t want to listen to Sans anymore.

Making you miserable won’t change what already happened, anyway. 

“and now, we don’t know if it’s safe to let you free. you’re in chains for a reason, and i don’t think it was just an aggressive human.”

You breathe loudly to try and drown out his voice. It doesn’t work.

“you’re lucky this isn’t worse. pap would be sad if you died, an’ starlight didn’t even want you in trouble.”

You look over to the machine, hoping it would suddenly send you to some other house.

“so you’re not in trouble, not how you should be.”

You feel like you are.

“all i can do is talk to you. so, since i can’t do much else, i’ll ask you something.” Sans regards you with a careful gaze.

The air grows suffocatingly cold around you, and you try to ignore the eons of sins weighing down on your spine.

“do you deserve to be in those chains?”

No. You never deserved this- nobody deserved this. What happened with Papyrus was a mistake, it didn’t mean anything.

You shook your head, and he sighed.

“let’s hope you’re right.” He didn’t sound convinced. Regardless, he nudged one of the bowls on the floor towards you.

It was the water. It looked clean, and there wasn’t anything in it to make it a soup.

You slammed your face into it. It was mildly cold and felt funny against your face.

You liked it, but your mood didn’t get much better. It’s hard to not think about what happened with Papyrus.

So there is something stronger than hunger: Guilt.

“um…” You looked at Sans through your peripheral vision. He looked uncomfortable, and less hostile than before.

You don’t care, since he made you feel bad. You finish your water before giving him your attention.

“right. i’ll give you the noodles and get out of here, but remember: not everyone in this house is happy with you. no matter what starlight says, you’re on thin ice. don’t break it.”

The food was pushed towards you, and you began to eat.

It was burnt, and consisted of noodles and some kind of sauce. 

Each noodle was cooked to a different degree. You don’t know how that’s possible, unless a new method was made for cooking noodles.

Why remake something that’s already successful? You prefer the now-ancient noodle method.

……

You debated how food must have changed until there wasn’t any food left. 

You lightly bit the bowl, just to be sure you were really done. It didn’t feel edible, so you let go.

Now that there wasn’t anything to eat, you notice that the room is dark again. Sans must have extinguished the light on his way out.

Rude, but okay. You can deal with this.

You laid your head on the floor, eyes adjusting to the dark of the basement.

There was a lot to think about now. Things weren’t exactly going well here, but it was nice being able to consider something other than the same few memories. There was food, too, and the rekindled hope of one day being free.

The skeletons are weird. They look like something between dead humans and hostile monsters- a mixture you didn’t know could be created. At least, not by anyone that wasn’t you. And you definitely didn’t create that.

Monsters, in your time, were unintelligent beasts created to provide a challenge to humans.

When did that change? Or did it change at all? You remember Sans asking if you were a monster.

Or did he? You think he did.

If he did, that must mean monsters are still hostile. What were the skeletons, then?

Hm. It was interesting to think about, but you don’t feel like diving deeper into it.

Instead, you considered the human the skeletons flock around.

Faye is...something. It’s her fault you got in trouble for the Papyrus incident, but she also said she'd find a way to set you free.

You wonder how she’ll free you. She certainly has magic, but it didn’t seem strong enough to come close to breaking your chains. Maybe she’d find souls to feed you.

You’d like that. You won’t lose control ever again once you’ve eaten some souls.

...Mm, souls. You could practically smell the magic, nice and…aggressive?

You grow alert, noticing the thin layer of light behind the stairway’s door. Someone was coming, and they were doused in aggressive magic. It was like what Sans had, but...smokier? It was hard to describe.

Magic is different per user, after all. You can’t help but think about what your own magic was like. The lesser gods said it was like a star's warmth, but that was forever ago. It must have changed by now, if just a little.

Something banged on the door, and you remembered the current threat. Or is it a threat?

“damned classic, course he locked it…” Someone grumbled. It sounded like Sans, but rougher- Red?

The magic fizzes, and a red burst swells before you. As you expected, it’s Red that remains when the burst fades.

He glowered at you, speaking in an even lower tone than normal, “you’ve fucked up, freakass.”

You look at him blankly. That was pathetic, and you’ve heard some terrible insults in your time.

“remember when you bit my princess?”

Oh, you were getting scolded again. Great.

“it scarred. no amount of healing’s gettin' rid of that mark- your mark, you disgusting fuck. i don’t know what you are or what you did to that bite, but she’s stuck with it forever.”

So what? It’s supposed to be permanent when you hurt things. Damage dealt by a deity can only be reversed by a deity.

“i think it’s only fair i return the favor.” Was he...going to bite you?

He’s an idiot. You haven’t forgotten what your chains did to that bone Sans had- you’ll just rustle your chains and make it impossible for him to bite you. There weren't many gaps big enough to safely stick his face without the rustling, so you doubt there’s a single spot he’d be able to target with you resisting.

Look at you, coming up with plans. You’ve been thinking really well! You think you’re getting better at staying on one topic at a time.

Wait, but now you’re off track again.

...That doesn’t count, you decide.

You finish planning only to notice that Red was raising a hand. Just above that hand was a draconic skull- the thing radiated hostile magic.

Aggressive as it is, it doesn’t bother you as much as Sans’s magic did. Despite the fact he was about to attack you, you could tell he wasn’t as upset with you as Sans was.

Its mouth opened with a buzzing sound, a ball of light forming in the back of its non-existent throat. It aimed towards one of your paws, the noise getting louder and louder until the light-

...until the light came on, and the room wasn’t dark anymore. 

The skull dissipated as Red turned around, both of you looking to the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I had to split this chapter into two, since I just kept writing and realized I wasn't going to hit a good stopping point until I had two chapter's worth of text. Since it's almost done already, I'll post the next chapter on the 25th! Happy holidays, you guys!)


	4. Guardian of the Devourer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Happy holidays! Its been a stressful year, but that makes it all the more of an accomplishment that you made it through. You got through 2020- you can do anything. 
> 
> Now drink your water, cuddle up in your best blanket, and keep on keeping on!
> 
> ...On a less real-world note, I imagine Blue and Black to have some serious beef. Their personalities are just built to clash.)

“RED!” Papyrus gasped in indignation, flailing one of his hands as though that’d stop him. There was something shiny in that hand, which you assumed to be the room key.

There was a short silence as the skeletons gaped at one another, which you used to take note of who had arrived. You recognized Papyrus and Blue, but it took a moment longer to identify the other two. They were the floor-skeletons, though you weren’t sure of their names.

Now that they were conscious, you notice that the shorter one has purple eyelights. They reminded you of Blue’s, but...not blue. You wonder if his name was ‘Purple’ to match.

He was the next to speak, giving you a particularly condescending stare, “I EXPECTED WORSE, THIS ‘CHAINS’ COULD PASS AS A MONSTER.”

You roll your eyes. Obviously, your draconic form could pass as a monster- dragons were monsters. But you’re no monster.

“BLACK, THEY CAN HEAR YOU.” Blue chided. 

“SO? WHAT ARE THEY GOING TO DO, GLARE AT ME?” You did.

“JUST LOOK AT THEM! THEY’RE IN A BAD ENOUGH SITUATION AS IS, THEY DON’T NEED YOU TO BE MAKING THEM FEEL WORSE.”

You huff as two skeletons began bickering, neither one acknowledging Papyrus’s pleas for them to stop.

They seemed to forget about Red entirely in their debate. He stood around awkwardly, red-tinted sweat dripping down his skull. These skeletons are really sweaty.

He said something, but it was drowned out by the ongoing argument. That must've annoyed him, or maybe he realized nobody was paying attention, since he promptly disappeared in a burst of magic.

Well, at least you don’t have to deal with him for now.

“I DON’T CARE WHAT SOME OVERSIZED LIZARD THINKS! LET THEM MARINATE IN THEIR OWN MISERY FOR ALL I CARE.”

But the yelling skeletons are starting to get annoying. You don’t like yelling, especially when it’s angry yelling.

“YOU CAN’T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT! BEING A JERK WON’T GET YOU ANYWHERE!”

You consider ways to intervene. The best way would be to just talk, but…

“IT’S GOTTEN ME PLENTY FAR, BUT YOUR FRIENDLINESS IS A DEATH SENTENCE. ISN’T THAT WHAT GOT THAT GIRLFRIEND OF YOURS HURT? AND BY THE SAME CRETIN YOU DEFEND!”

You let out a bizarre coo, wincing at the sound. That’s still not an option, but it was a little better than the last time you tried to speak. 

Would you be able to train your voice? That might take a long time. You’re hoping to be freed before you get the chance to speak on your own.

You coo again anyway, partially expecting your voice to be magically better. It’s not, and your throat kind of hurts now. You wish you had more water.

“IF SHE WAS CLOSE ENOUGH TO BITE, SHE WAS CLOSE ENOUGH TO TOUCH THE CHAINS ON ACCIDENT. THEY MIGHT HAVE DONE IT TO SAVE HER!”

Right, the argument. You have to do something about that.

Maybe you could do the rattling thing again? But you don’t want to cause Sans or Faye to come back.

“THEN WHAT ABOUT PAPYRUS?”

What to do, what to do…

...Wait, they were quiet. Your gaze flickered between the skeletons, and you realize they were both looking at Papyrus.

He flinched slightly, “THEY MEANT NO HARM, IT WAS...IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT!” He didn’t seem sure of what he said.

You can tell he doesn't have a bad memory. Why does he doubt himself now, when he was so understanding at the time it happened?

Though you have mixed feelings on the skeleton, (primarily in relation to the floor-food and 'the Great Spaghetti Lizard') it stung a little knowing that he didn’t trust you.

And by a little, you meant a lot. These skeletons, obnoxious as they are, were growing on you quickly.

But all of them were going to hate you one day, if you want Faye's help. That’ll be okay, right? You won’t have to obey her forever.

Maybe you can return here after fully restoring your strength. She won’t have any control over you at that point, so you’d be able to make some friends.

“WAIT, WHERE’S RED?” The tone of the skeleton debate changed again, catching your attention. They were all staring at the empty spot where Red once stood.

“THE COWARD RAN AWAY. HE DIDN’T HAVE THE GUTS TO GO THROUGH WITH THE KILL.” Black was wrong, Red wasn’t going to kill you- even if killing you was possible. He’d aimed at your paw.

“OH DEAR, I’M SURE HE WASN’T GOING TO ACTUALLY HURT THEM! AND BLACK, IT ISN’T BRAVERY THAT CREATES VIOLENCE!” Papyrus was equally wrong about Red, but his words got you to think.

You have a strange relationship with violence, just like all the lesser deities you knew. Violence wouldn’t exist without you, but neither would peace. It's complicated, and you know some would consider you bad for it. There's always a few mortals ready to complain about not giving them utopia.

But you're a good deity, and you learned through experience. Mortals lived their best lives when there was difficulty- and utopia isn't possible even by divine means.

“WHAT IF HE TRIES AGAIN?” Blue sounded worried. Was he worried for you? He doesn't need to be. At least, not because of Red.

“WE SHOULD TALK TO HIM. MAYBE SOME COMFORT SPAGHETTI WILL HELP?” Papyrus proposed.

You perked at the word ‘spaghetti.’ That’s the oddly-cooked noodle thing, right? You want some, you’re still hungry. And your throat hurts.

Why does your throat hurt? Weird.

“JUST LET IT HAPPEN. IF IT CAN’T FEND OFF A MONSTER AS WEAK AS HIM, IT DOESN’T DESERVE TO LIVE.”

Now that you;ve thought about it, all you can focus on is the dull pain in the back of your throat.

“I’M NOT GOING TO ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT YOU JUST SAID.” Blue sent a sharp look at Black before turning to Papyrus, “BUT ANYWAYS, DO YOU THINK THAT’LL STOP HIM? I’M SURE HE’LL GET LESS VIOLENT AS HE GETS USED TO THEM, BUT-”

Black cut Blue off with crossed arms and a dramatic stomp, “IF YOU’RE ‘NOT GOING TO ACKNOWLEDGE’ ME, I SEE NO NEED FOR ME TO WASTE MY TIME WITH YOU. MUTT!”

You completely forgot about the fourth skeleton in the room, who had yet to speak a word. He stood by Black, giving you an unsettling stare even as he replied.

“yes, m’lord?”

“I WANT YOU TO KNOW WHERE MISS FAYE IS BY TIME I GET UPSTAIRS.”

“of course.” The skeleton who was apparently called ‘Mutt’ disappeared. The magic was similar to Red’s, but violet. It doesn't linger long, but it has a similar smokiness to Red's.

When you were done inspecting the magic, Black was already halfway up the stairs. He slammed the door with unnecessary force on his way out.

You wonder if Mutt was able to find Faye in that short timeframe.

“...SHOULD I MAKE TWO HELPINGS OF COMFORT SPAGHETTI?” Papyrus asked.

He should. And both of them should be for you.

“I DON’T THINK ANYONE SHOULD GET REWARDED FOR WANTING TO PUT SOMEONE IN DANGER.” Blue’s posture relaxed in Black’s absence, and the irritation disappeared from his voice. He must really hate the guy, which confuses you. Didn’t Black arrive with you? How did he already build such a rivalry?

Then again, Red did just try to attack you. Maybe skeletons get mad easily.

Papyrus deflated, but nodded, “UNDERSTANDABLE. SHALL WE FIND RED, THEN?”

“CAN WE TALK ABOUT CHAINS FIRST?” You miss being called (Y/n). You can’t even remember what your true name sounded like in the voices of your friends.

...Actually, you don’t remember the voices of your friends at all.

Can you call them your friends anymore, after all this time?

“OH, U-UM. ALRIGHT, WHAT IS UP?” Papyrus faltered, but kept his smile.

“I’D LIKE TO TAKE SHIFTS KEEPING THEM SAFE. I WANT TO TRUST RED, BUT WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE HE AND BLACK LEAVE THEM ALONE.”

You wonder how often Red and Black attack people. It must be concerningly often. Unless you’re a special case, in which case...fair enough? Maybe they’re aggressively atheistic and try to kill any gods they see.

You’d be angry, too, if you spent all your time trying to kill immortals and near-immortals.

“THAT’S NOT NECESSARY! I BELIEVE IN THEM. AS HARSH AS THEY MIGHT SEEM, I’M SURE THEY MEAN NO REAL HARM. A NICE TALK WILL DO THE TRICK!”

“Papyrus, Red Had A Blaster Out.” Blue’s tone dropped, but not in an angry way. It was like he was disappointed for some reason.

“MAYBE HE WAS TRYING TO BLAST THE CHAINS OFF? AN UNFAVORABLY DANGEROUS MOVE, BUT NOT ILL-SPIRITED!”

“If You’re So Sure They Don't Need Protecting...THEN I’LL DO IT BY MYSELF!” Blue's mood flipped as he beamed at you, his eyes turning to stars, “I’LL PROTECT YOU, CHAINS! IT’LL BE LIKE I’M YOUR ROYAL GUARD! MWEHEHEH!” 

Papyrus brightened, too, “ROYAL GUARD?! I’D LOVE TO-” He froze, briefly glanced at the door, and backtracked, “UM, I’D LOVE TO SUPPORT YOUR GUARDSMANSHIP.”

You have no idea what a royal guard is supposed to be. You imagine it to be a guard, but...rich? You don’t see the appeal. Rich people souls are like garbage. They probably taste like it, too.

You'd still eat one if it was offered, but you wouldn't enjoy it- and that's a lot coming from you.

“THANKS, PAPYRUS! IT MEANS A LOT COMING FROM THE MASCOT OF MONSTERKIND.” 

You snorted at him saying the phrase you just thought, but Papyrus took it differently. He brightened to the point he was almost glowing at the mention of his title.

Speaking of, what was that title? Mascot of monsterkind...They were really monsters, then. Monsters without mindless hostility and with souls and magic.

You never created that, so you can't help but wonder who did. Did...did you get replaced? None of the others had the authority to make major changes like that.

...You decide to drop that line of thought before it becomes dangerous. You'll find the answer when you're released.

“NYEH! THE GREAT PAPYRUS, MASCOT OF MONSTERS, MEANS EVERY WORD! I WILL ALWAYS BE HERE TO SUPPORT YOU.” He paused, “AND RIGHT NOW, I NEED TO SUPPORT YOU IN THAT GREASY RESTAURANT BEFORE RED DRINKS HIMSELF UNCONSCIOUS.”

“MY FIRST MISSION AS A GUARD BEGINS! I'LL SEE YOU SOON, CHAINS!” Blue offered an excited wave, practically bouncing up the stairs with Papyrus following close behind.

They didn’t turn the light off when they left, so you took to examining the room as you thought.

Having a guard wouldn’t be too bad, even if said guard is really loud...And not that great at his job, given he already left you vulnerable to being attacked again.

Faye might disagree, though, and you can’t risk upsetting her. Her threat has stayed in the back of your mind from the second she uttered it, and you can’t let it become reality. You can’t be abandoned again.

...But you can't be ditched when there's someone actively looking out for you.

You'll keep Blue around. Just as insurance, for if Faye doesn't plan to keep her end of the deal. It's probably not possible to make him hate you, anyway.

And you'd like having a friend again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Next chapter's gonna be a fluffy one! Our deity deserves some happiness after everything, and what better a source than a basement sleepover with Blue?
> 
> ...And there'll be puns. A lot of puns.
> 
> And a fun fact: I generally write between midnight and four in the morning. I have the attention span of our deity when I'm sleep deprived, so it's easier to write them like that! I do fear making a major mistake cause of it, though.)


	5. The Stars Shine Above

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Some happiness for the Devourer. They earned it!)

You watch in mild curiosity as Blue comes in and out of the room, dropping off miscellaneous items every trip.

So far, there was a pile of pillows and blankets, some books, and a couple boxes.

One of those boxes sat at the foot of Blue’s brother, Stretch. He’d pretend to be putting it down whenever Blue was in the room, but he wasn’t being helpful at all.

You got the impression he only agreed to help in order to talk to you, but there wasn’t enough time to do so in between Blue’s appearances. He settled for giving you a threatening stare as he picked his box up yet again.

Your guard was already helping, even if he didn’t know it.

And it seemed like he finished gathering things, since he let the door shut behind him.

“THAT’S EVERYTHING! THANKS FOR THE HELP, STRETCH.”

You take that as your cue to start investigating what he brought.

“no problem. d’you think i can join in on your sleepover?” You stopped the investigation before it began in order to give Stretch a dirty look and shake your head. 

The rattling of your chains caught both of their attention. Stretch looked back at Blue a moment later, but the short skeleton kept his gaze on you.

“...DO YOU REALLY WANT TO, PAPY?”

You feel a little uncomfortable being watched like this. You decide to do that investigation.

There was the mountain of bedding, which was a mixture of space-themed stuff and plain white. You guess it’s both everything from his room and all the spares he could find.

“yup. sure do.”

They must have a big house, having so many spare blankets. You wish you could explore the place.

But then again, exploring means being free. If you’re free, there’s other things you have to do.

Like eat.

“EVEN THOUGH THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO?”

You really wanted to ea-

No. You weren’t supposed to be thinking about food.

You’re supposed to be looking around.

“uh. yeah?” 

You look at Stretch’s box. You can read what’s written on it, but can’t identify the language. You’re grateful that translation is a natural gift of gods. That used to be one of the abilities you took for granted.

‘Fairy Lights- FRAGILE.’

“THEN NO! A GOOD GUARD DOESN’T ACT WITHOUT APPROVAL.”

They had fairies in their lights? Or were they using fairies for light?

That sounded cruel to you, and you can tolerate a lot more cruelty than most mortals.

“c’mon, bro, i helped you bring your stuff down.”

You check one of the other boxes, hoping its contents to be less unnerving.

This box was somewhat battered, and looked like it was opened and closed often. The text on it was written in thick blue ink.

‘BLUE’S PROJECTOR- DO NOT TOUCH!!! (Unless You Have Blue’s Permission.)’

“YOU BROUGHT ONE BOX. DON’T THINK I DIDN’T NOTICE, LAZY-BONES.”

You don’t know what a projector is. Must be important, given the intensity of its label.

“...shit. fine, but be careful, got it? remember your hp.”

There’s a box of books, too, but you don’t bother looking at it. You’re not in a position to be reading.

“WORRY NOT, THE MAGNIFICENT SA-BLUE WILL BE THE BEST GUARD THIS WORLD HAS EVER SEEN! MWEHEHEHEH!”

The only other thing of note is the last thing Blue brought in- which he happens to still be holding. 

It was a somewhat large plastic box. The sides were opaque, and the lid was bright red. You can’t tell what’s in it, and that bothers you. The unknown is unnerving after everything it has done to you.

“‘course you will.” Stretch grumbled, somewhere between proud and frustrated. He set down his box for what you imagined was the last time, and disappeared in a burst of orange.

These skeletons really like to teleport. Even when you had the ability to, you never abused your teleportation as much as them.

“I’LL SEE YOU AT BREAKFAST!” Blue called out despite his brother being gone.

“NOW!” He grinned at you, “ I BROUGHT SOME THINGS TO PUT UP, AND MAYBE MAKE YOU MORE COMFORTABLE? I CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF THE BASEMENT, SO I FIGURED I’D MAKE THE BASEMENT YOURS!”

There’s not much to be done to make you comfortable. Chains aren’t comfy, magic or not. The least the human could’ve done was make them soft.

“IT’LL TAKE A MOMENT TO PUT IT ALL UP, SO YOU CAN HAVE THESE WHILE YOU WAIT.” Blue opened the container in his hands, and you were struck with the smell of food.

This was a smell you could recognize; cookies. 

Last time you ate them, it was because of an old friend. You didn’t eat much human food in the past, when you had an infinite supply of souls.

Funny how that changes over a couple million years.

...It made you so nostalgic you almost forgot your desperate need to eat.

Too bad you didn’t, because now you were starting to drool and you felt a little gross for it.

Blue put the container in front of you, and you didn’t hesitate to stuff your face in it.

You scarfed them down faster than you could really taste them, but the cookies were nice. 

Cookies are better than spaghetti, you think.

Even the crumbs, which you lick from the bottom of the container.

You’re almost done when the room is enveloped in blue light.

Your first thought screams magic, and you look up with a jolt.

Stars.

The room was covered in stars.

They looked so distant, and emanated no warmth. And yet they were close, confined in the room with you.

They were impossible. They didn’t make any sense.

But they made you feel just a little bit more like your old self.

“DO YOU LIKE IT? IT ALWAYS MAKES ME FEEL BETTER.”

Blue was by the wall, the projector box sitting next to him. There was a little machine connected to the wall, blue light flooding from it.

Some of that light hit his bones, little stars decorating his side as he grinned at you. 

“MWEHEH, I THINK YOU DO!” 

His own stars formed in his eyes. Somehow, they held more warmth than the ones all around you.

You felt...oddly content.

“NOW LET’S GET YOU COMFORTABLE!” He practically bounced to the pile of bedding, holding up two blankets, “WOULD YOU PREFER THE SPACE BLANKET OR A WHITE ONE?” 

People need to stop asking you non-yes or no questions.

You nod with a blank expression.

“OH, RIGHT! CAN YOU READ AND WRITE?”

Your expression becomes even more blank, if that’s possible.

Does it matter if you can read or write? Your paws aren’t exactly free, and they’re...well, paws. You’re not going to be holding up a book or a pen anytime soon.

You nod regardless, and watch as Blue drops the blankets and moves to the book box. He sifts through it for a moment, pulling out a grey book with a weird spine and flimsy looking cover. There was a pen, too- a weird model of pen you haven’t seen before.

Blue clicked something on the pen, then held it out just in front of your face. 

Did he want you to eat it? You’d do it, but that’s weird.

“CAN YOU HOLD THIS?”

Slowly, you grasp the pen between your teeth. It was hard not to use too much pressure and snap it while also using enough pressure to not drop it.

“NOW YOU CAN TELL ME THINGS!” He opened the book, pressing a blank page to the tip of the pen.

Your ‘handwriting’ is going to be absolutely atrocious, but this is an invaluable opportunity.

Whatever you tell Blue now will set the course for your future. You could tell him about your divinity, you could tell him about Faye’s plans, you could tell him everything you know about the chains that bind you...Maybe you could even give him your real name, that way you don’t have to be called Chains anymore.

You glance over to the boxes you previously examined, making sure you’d use the right language.

Then you slowly moved your head, the pen clumsily sliding along the paper. The lines were ugly and looked strange since you didn’t lift the pen off the paper, but the first letter was formed.

Blue pulled the book away, shifted it slightly to the side, and held it up again. You made another letter.

This repeated a few times until you let go of your pen- you were done.

In sloppy, barely-legible writing, you had written: ‘I’m hungry.’

...You couldn’t help it. Who were you to pass on an opportunity for food?

Blue turned the book around, taking a second to decipher your writing. You could see the moment he realized what it said- his bright expression faltered, and you swore disappointment flashed across his face.

“OH.” He glanced down at the empty cookie box, then nodded, “Okay. I’ll Get You Something To Eat.”

Now you felt bad. You needed to fix this situation as soon as possible.

You make the gentlest noise you can, which sounds vaguely like a dying possum, and attempt to pick the pen up from the floor.

It doesn’t work, but Blue catches on to what you’re doing and gives it to you.

He doesn’t look as excited to be holding the notebook up this time, so you use your limited words to fix your mistake.

‘For attention, not food. Want pets. + Space blan_’

That one took two pages, since your letters were comically large. You got sick of writing towards the end, then dropped the pen on accident in the middle of ‘blanket.’ Still, you think it’s good enough for what you need.

It hurt to say you weren’t hungry, but the way Blue seemed to glow upon reading it dulled the pain.

It helped that his magic swelled up so much, be it with pride or happiness. You felt your soul absorb a bit of the excess.

“WOWZERS, THAT’S ADORABLE! YOU CAN HAVE ALL THE ATTENTION!”

Blue patted the top of your head, and you wonder if this is how cats felt. It was weird, but not unpleasant.

After about a minute of somewhat-awkward patting, he moved away to the bedding pile. He took both the space blanket and one of the plain ones, “I REALIZED THAT YOU NEED TWO, SINCE YOU’RE NOT BLANKET-SIZED. I HOPE YOU DON’T MIND THE WHITE BLANKET?” 

You don’t, because why would you? Unless the blanket’s cursed or something.

Hopefully not. But maybe it’s a curse that can dispel divine magic, and thus break your chains…

The blanket is thrown over your back. It covered the end of your tail, only reaching the middle of your back.

It wasn’t cursed, and you’re a little disappointed it didn’t miraculously fix all your problems.

The space one came soon after, but the throw wasn’t as good. It draped over your head, blocking your vision.

“SORRY!” The blanket was carefully shifted to uncover your vision.

Though the crisscrossing chains were still icy against you, the fluffy warmth of the blankets made you feel safe. You’re happy you chose this over food.

“NOW THERE’S JUST ONE THING LEFT!” Blue returned to the bedding pile, this time picking a pillow.

He returned to your side with it, gently pushing the cookie container aside to replace it with the pillow.

“IS THIS GOOD, OR SHOULD I MOVE IT?”

You dropped your head onto the pillow.

You forgot things could be this soft. You rub your head against it, appreciating the texture. Compared to the hard floors you’ve been laying on, it may as well have been a cloud.

It smelled of magic, dreams, and some sort of spice.

The spice wasn’t a pleasant smelling one, like cinnamon or...well, you can’t really remember any other spices, but still. It was definitely meant for eating and not for smelling.

You suspect it wasn’t intentional, but was rather something Blue worked with a lot. If you had to guess, it was a spice that went with meat.

Now you’re unbearably hungry again. Is it too late to ask for food?

“ARE YOU ALREADY GOING TO SLEEP?”

You didn’t even realize that you’d shut your eyes. You open them, subtly nodding your head. You hadn’t been planning on it, but you got the feeling sleeping now would give you the best rest you’ve had in ages.

“OH, OKAY! WANT ME TO TELL YOU A STORY?” 

You swore you only closed your eyes for a second, but Blue already set up a makeshift bed of his own beside you. There were still stars in his eyes, and you wondered if they’d become permanent.

You don’t want him to tell you a story, since he’s loud and full of energy. But he’s your friend, the first you’ve had in a long time, so you nod.

Blue nodded back, staring up at the stars on the ceiling, “Somewhere In The Galaxy, A Frog Was Getting Ready For A Competition. He Was A Starry Dwarf The Size Of A Small Planet, And His Hops Were A Lightyear Each- Perfect For The Intergalactic Hopping Contest.”

He was making it up as he went, his voice growing somewhat distant. You wonder why he seems so impacted by an improv story about a space frog. Nothing even happened yet.

“It Was A Rough Day In The Galaxy, Though, And He Forgot His Umbra-lla For The Meteor Showers. He Looked At Them, And He Said, 'No Matter, I Won't Let It Batter My Sunny Disposition.'”

He was doing the same thing with words that Sans did. Blue brightened whenever he did it, but you were disappointed. You thought he’d be above that bizarre humor.

“And He Hopped Through The Meteor Shower, Because He Needed To Succeed.

He Was Stopped In His Path When He Came Across A Massive Star. He'd Certainly Be Late If He Went Around It, But He Feared He'd Burn His Little Froggy Feet If He Went Over It.”

You closed your eyes, picturing the (not so) little frog.

“He Looked At It, And He Said, 'No Matter, I Won't Let It Burn My Determination. There's Plenty Of Space To Jump!' 

He Hopped Over The Star, Because He Felt He Needed To.

He Was Almost At The Competition When He Found A Black Hole In His Path. He Knew He Could Determine A Path If He Had The Time To Plan-it, But Then He'd Be Late.

'I Won't Settle For A Constellation Prize!' He Declared, Readying To Leap Over The Black Hole.”

Blue lowered his voice to a near-whisper, probably having noticed that you closed your eyes.

“But then he paused, since his feet were burnt and his body was sore.

If he leapt over the black hole, he'd be dizzy from disorientation and in pain from fighting its gravity.

The frog was sad for a moment, but then he asked, 'Why do I want to win this competition, if the cost of winning is my own happiness?'

He was good at hopping, yes, but he only did it because he thought he had to. If he didn't hop, he'd never win the competition.

The other frogs wanted him to do well in the competition, so much so that they never asked if he wanted to be in it. He didn't want to hop, he wanted to swim- but the other frogs didn’t like swimming, and would be upset if he swam. That’s why he wanted to win the competition.

It didn't matter what they wanted him to like, he decided. He would swim, and he would never betray himself to hop again. Not even for the frogs he cared about the most.”

Blue sighed when he finished, looking at his sleeping friend. He meant to tell something more lighthearted, since Chains needed the comfort. Instead, he just made himself feel bad.

He wished he was as brave as the frog. He was still in his competition, and there was no backing out until he could figure out why he didn’t like hopping. Or, in the very least, he wanted to find his version of what was swimming to the frog.

It’s not his fault he stopped feeling the soul bond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (It took a ridiculously long time to write the space-frog pun story. It wasn't meant to have a deeper meaning, but it ended up too perfect to not use.
> 
> And since it may be unclear- Blue's not in love with the deity right now. He's just not in love with Faye, either.
> 
> ......On another note, I have learned that I don't really know how to write fluff.)

**Author's Note:**

> (Though much inspiration comes from Terraria's Calamity mod, our deity's past is original. Also, this is my first time writing Undertale and its AUs, so warn me if I get too OOC.
> 
> On another note, I intentionally made (Y/n)'s thoughts jumbled and somewhat inconsistent. It's supposed to reflect all the time they spent suffering alone, but I see how it might be harder to follow this way. I hope it's still readable!)


End file.
